Topps Heritage cards brought back my long lost love of sports card collecting, so I'd like to share some of my newfound ballcard experiences with as many collectors as possible, especially those who have not purchased a pack of cards in many years!

Friday, January 9, 2009

If you are alive, you are probably well aware of the current financial situation in the United States. Companies are losing money, people are losing jobs and below average southpaw's are only making $3 million per year. Now the US Postal Service says you might be getting your mail later than before. From the Yahoo article, it makes it sound like you will receive your mail the same day, but perhaps later in the day. However, recently it seems like it has been taking a longer number of days to receive items as well. USPS lost $2.8 billion last year, due in part to 9.5 billion less pieces of mail being sent! Since USPS is the only real economical solution for the shipping of small amounts of cards, us collectors will just have to stick it out with good old Cliff Claven.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Well, the final college football game of the season is upon us. Tonight's game should be fun to watch, and the resulting controversy will be great to watch as well. A lot of fans and experts thought that Texas should have been playing in the Big XII Championship instead of OU since Texas beat them head to head on a neutral field. A lot of people are going to say Utah deserves some talk when it comes to #1. Same for USC.

But perhaps more importantly, well to collectors at least, is which players from tonight's game will grace the colored cardboard next year. The biggest question is probably if Tim Tebow or Sam Bradford (or both) will be playing on Saturday's or Sunday's later this year. According to Rivals.com's NFL Draft Top 100, Bradford would be the #8 rated prospect if he decided to enter the draft. And everyone loves a good QB rookie card! Tebow's card should be in high demand as well if he declares, although there are many different opinions on how Tebow's style will translate to the NFL, and some even think he can be successful at a position other than quarterback in the NFL. Tebow flies in at #58 on the list. Percy Harvin, the Gators star wide receiver will be another high profile rookie card if he decides to enter the draft. Percy is also just a junior and the #18 prospect.

Two more wide receivers, senior Juaquin Iglesias (#52 prospect) from Oklahoma and senior Louis Murphy (#97) from Florida probably won't get much love from collectors at first, but they are in the 2nd half of the top 100 prospects. Oklahoma tight end Jermaine Gresham is rated as the #12 overall prospect, but it's pretty rare that a tight end burst's immediately onto the football card scene, and he is just a junior as well. Non-skill position players tend to fly under the card radar as well, but it's worth noting that OU junior defensive tackle Gerald McCoy (#14), OU junior offensive tackle Trent Williams (#28), senior OU guard Duke Robinson (#38) and junior Florida defensive end Jermaine Cunningham (#96) are all rated among the top 100 prospects for the 2009 NFL draft. Enjoy the game and the preview of which players will have wax on their face next season.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Bernice Gallego (no relation to Mike that I know of) recently found an old baseball card while going through stuff in a shoebox to sell on ebay. She listed it on ebay for $10 ($9.99) because she did not want to pay an extra 20 cents in listing fees to start it at a higher price. After one day and a few questions from interested bidders, she decided she should find out more about this card before selling it. Good thing for her she did. It turns out to be a 139 year old card and what is considered to be one of the first baseball cards ever made, a 1869 Peck and Snyder Cincinnati Red Stockings card. Just how valuable it this rare find, well here is one currently listed on ebay:1869 Peck and Snyder Cincinnati Red Stockings

Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the Hartford Courant article about this find:

In the meantime, Gallego didn't want the card to get lost, so she put it in a sandwich bag and push-pinned it to her laundry room wall.

"If it fell off the wall, the cat would have ate it," Gallego says. "Well, or the dog."

"When I came to meet her and she took it out of a sandwich Baggie and she was smoking a cigarette, I almost fainted," Mirigian says.

"They've uncovered a piece of history that few people will ever be able to imagine or comprehend. And it comes out of Fresno," Mirigian says. "That card is history. It's like unearthing a Mona Lisa or a Picasso."

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Here is another one of those cards that seem to be make out of pure gold. Actually, if this was pure gold it would probably be less valuable than what the current bidding is at. This Sidney Crosby Autographed patch rookie card has 36 bids with still more than four days to go in the auction and is already past the $6,000 mark! It's serial numbered out of 99, so while rare it's not like it's a one of one. And this seller has at least two of these cards, judging from the scan and item description, but the auction is only for one of them. While the price seems high to me, it's good to see some hockey cards getting some attention and collector demand.Sidney Crosby Autograph Rookie Patch Card